Bowling for Soup has its origins in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Jaret Reddick (born March 6, 1972) and other members of the band grew up. Reddick and guitarist Chris Burney (born May 25, 1969) knew each other in high school (they met in 1986), and as students in the 1980s, they grew up on the commercially successful heavy metal music of bands such as Quiet Riot, RATT, and Mötley Crüe, but were also influenced by the faster punk rock of the Ramones and later Green Day. Burney's family owned The Refuge, a Wichita Falls coffeehouse with a music stage, and he played there with his first band, The Persecuted. He and Reddick met bassist Erik Chandler (born December 22, 1974) and drummer Gary Wiseman (born January 6, 1979) there in the early 1990s (although Wiseman did not join the band until 1998).

Burney and Chandler soon formed the Folkadots, while Wiseman formed Gary & the Wiseman. Burney and Chandler, along with Lance Morrill, also formed the band Slaw. Around this time, Reddick formed the band Terminal Seasons. Not too long after, Reddick and Morrill formed coolfork!, which Burney later joined. The band was in full swing by 1993, playing such venues as the Refuge. A few months later, after forming a band called Rubberneck, the group took the name Bowling for Soup, and the band was officially formed in Wichita Falls on June 4, 1994, by Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Chandler (bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar), and Morrill (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Morrill left the band in 1998 (on good terms) and was replaced by Wiseman. The band's name was derived from a comedy act by Steve Martin.[2]

Drunk Enough to Dance and A Hangover You Don't Deserve (2002–04)[edit]

Drunk Enough to Dance is Bowling for Soup's second album with Jive Records, released August 6, 2002. It was recorded at Tree Sound Studios and Sonica Recording in Atlanta and Big Time Audio in Dallas, Texas. One of the album's two singles (the other single was "Emily"), "Girl All The Bad Guys Want", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003 in the "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" category. Reddick considers the Grammies one of his shining moments, not for the nomination, but for winning "worst dressed" in Time Magazine.

A re-release in 2003 added "Punk Rock 101", a cover of 1980s new wave bandA Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)", and "Star Song". An acoustic version of the song "Belgium" exists at the end of the album, as well as at the very end of the initial release. The cover of "I Ran (So Far Away)" was used as the opening theme song of the anime television show Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac in North America.

The band appeared in the 2002 film Crossroads, playing at a graduation party.[4]

A Hangover You Don't Deserve followed two years later, and has become the band's only Top 40 album. Sales of the album were driven in large part by the radioairplay of the single "1985", a song cowritten by the band SR-71. Mitch Allan, lead vocalist of SR-71, contributed backing vocals to the song and appeared in the music video. "1985" became Bowling for Soup's biggest hit in the U.S., reaching No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single from A Hangover You Don't Deserve, "Almost", charted on the UK Singles Chart, No. 46 on the U.S. Top 100, and No. 23 on U.S. Pop 100. "Ohio", better known as "Come Back to Texas", was released as a radio single in the U.S., but was not as popular as "1985" or "Almost", reaching only No. 59 on the U.S. Pop 100.

Bowling for Soup Goes to the Movies, StarJam, and The Great Burrito Extortion Case (2005–06)[edit]

Following the release of the band's covers album, Bowling for Soup spent most of 2006 readying The Great Burrito Extortion Case, the group's seventh album, which was released on November 7, 2006. The group released the first single from that album, "High School Never Ends", to iTunes on September 19, 2006. The UK release of the album was on February 5, 2007.

The band released "I'm Gay" as the second UK single in early 2007. The release was on CD and 7" vinyl. A music video for the single was released in the UK, made up of live performances of the song from the "Get Happy Tour", of which the band had performed in the UK during February 2007. On September 25, 2007 it was announced on the official Bowling for Soup forums that "When We Die" would be released as a download only single in the UK on the October 22, 2007 as the third single. Following this, the music video was added to the Kerrang television playlist, and was played on Scuzz TV. The group created an album (also on the label Jive) called On Your Mark... Get Set... Smoke a Cigarette which consisted of three songs: "Bipolar", "Somebody Get My Mom", "Li'l Red Riding Hood".

Bowling for Soup produced an hour-long special that airs on DirecTV's concert series and made an appearance at the Download Festival at Donington Park, England. Bowling for Soup cowrote and sang the theme song for Disney's Phineas and Ferb, "Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day". The group briefly appears in one episode of Phineas and Ferb, called "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo". "Greatest Day" was the opening song to the Nickelodeon film The Last Day of Summer.

The band's first live DVD, Bowling for Soup: Live and Very Attractive was filmed over the course of the UK Get Happy Tour October 2007 and premiered at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. with the DVD released in the summer. A three disk edition was released in the UK on July 7, 2008.[5] There was a limited edition pre-order deal for the DVD which included a T-shirt, drinks mug, exclusive poster and more besides the DVD. Reddick sang lead vocals and Chandler sang backing vocals for the song "Endless Possibility" for the video game Sonic Unleashed.

On January 20, 2009, Reddick released a video onto the web via the band's Myspace page and both YouTube accounts about a new album by the group. According to him, the band's eighth full-length album was set to be released in September 2009,[6][7] and the band had very recently started recording. He said it was to be titled Sorry for Partyin'. The video was the first of a few released during the recording process of the album.

Sorry for Partyin' was released on October 12, 2009. "My Wena" was the first promotional single from the album. The single was first previewed on May 5, 2009 on the Lex and Terry show. A music video for the song was filmed and the video was released on July 21, 2009.[8] The song was released to iTunes on July 28, 2009.[9] "No Hablo Ingles" was supposed to be the first single released to the radio for the album, however, Jive split with the band and shelved Sorry for Partyin' after only four weeks of being on sale, thus no single was ever released to radio.[10]

Bowling for Soup released an acoustic album, Jaret & Erik 2010 UK Acoustic Tour Limited Edition CD, during Reddick and Chandler's acoustic tour in the UK in April 2010. The album was released after the tour on the band's online UK and US stores. Reddick has also stated that an acoustic album is very possible for the group's next acoustic tour, which was planned for April 2011, but nothing came of it.

In an interview, Reddick said that after the band's current tour concluded he would begin writing material for a new record.[11] Reddick confirmed May 8 on his Twitter account the band would start recording an eleventh album in June 2010.[12][13] On June 2, an update was posted on the band's website stating that the group had entered the studio and begun recording the album.[14] The band announced that a new album was to be released in Spring 2011.[15][16]Merry Flippin' Christmas Volume 1 was released on iTunes and CD, the band's first two albums were re-released[17]Legacy Recordings released a greatest hits album, Playlist: The Very Best of Bowling for Soup, on January 25, 2011 as part of the label's Playlist music album series.[18] The band played what is said to be the first single off Fishin' for Woos, "S-S-S-Saturday" (also known as "Saturday Night"), live on ABC for the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions finals on January 22.[19][20][21] The album was ultimately released April 25, 2011, in the United Kingdom, and April 26 worldwide. In July 2011, the band released a 7" split EP with The Dollyrots, in which each band covered one of the other band's songs.[22][23][24] Reddick said the band had plans to release a lot of other music in 2011: "We are re-releasing our first 3 albums and working on another Christmas album. Chandler will release a solo record. And my new band, People on Vacation, will release our first album. We are also trying to get a b-sides comp together. It is gonna be a great year!".[25] In October 2011, Bowling for Soup released a three-track single that included the new single "I've Never Done Anything Like This", which features Kay Hanley on vocals from Fishin' for Woos, as well as a re-recorded version of "The Bitch Song" and a cover version of "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne.[26][27]

On September 8, the band performed at the Tennessee Soybean Festival in Martin, Tennessee.[28] On September 25, the band released a split album with The Dollyrots and Patent Pending called One Big Happy, where the bands perform covers of each other's songs.

On February 15, 2013, the band started a pledge music campaign to fund a new album, and Reddick stated "The Writing Process has Begun". Pledgers got to hear the songs just as they were finished. The first song to be written was "Since We Broke Up", by Linus of Hollywood and Reddick.[29] On April 8, 2013, Bowling for Soup announced that the group's last tour of the UK would take place in October of the same year,[30] but they toured the UK again in February 2016[31] and February 2018.[32]

Reddick also announced in a video posted online that the band was scheduled to record a new cover album, as well as a greatest hits album after the 2013 Farewell UK Tour[33] and preceding the band's 20th anniversary in June 2014.

On June 11, 2013, Reddick announced via the band's PledgeMusic Project page it was up to the pledgers to vote on what the newest album should be named. On June 20, 2013, it was announced the title with the most votes was Lunch. Drunk. Love.[34] The album was released to the pledgers on September 6, 2013 in both clean and explicit formats, and the pledge campaign was temporarily extended, allowing effective purchase of the album for $10.[35]

As part of Bowling for Soup's 20th anniversary, Reddick, Burney, Chandler, and Wiseman decided to make a greatest hits album. The band once again turned to PledgeMusic to source funding for the project. The album is titled Songs People Actually Liked Volume 1 The First 10 Years and includes 17 re-recorded songs and 1 new song. This album is seen by the band members as their true 'Greatest Hits' (from the group's first 10 years) as the previously released 2011 greatest hits album was released with no consultation from the band or fans. The album was released to PledgeMusic subscribers on November 19, 2014. One critic wrote, "Bowling for Soup's energetic, humorous music is just as good today as it was when it was released."[36]

The band announced on May 11, 2016 that they would begin to record a new EP, Drunk Dynasty. The band would again team up with PledgeMusic to include fans in the entire recording process.[37] The band later announced that Drunk Dynasty was to be a full-length studio album. It was eventually released on October 14.[38]

The Get Happy Tour was set up as a joint venture with Bowling for Soup and Army of Freshmen. The original tour was planned with Bowling for Soup headlining, Army of Freshmen opening and two other bands (Punchline and Lucky Boys Confusion) playing between. The tour kicked off in Austin, Texas on June 23, 2006 with The Vanished taking Lucky Boys Confusion's spot for the first three dates. The band toured the U.S. over the summer and autumn of 2006 with the Get Happy Tour and ended on August 27, 2006 in Amarillo, Tex. This was followed by a UK tour in early February 2007. Coinciding with this UK tour was the UK release of "High School Never Ends". The tour included Bowling for Soup as main headliners, Wheatus, Son of Dork and Army of Freshmen on the 12 date trek, which concluded at Hammersmith Palais in London, on the February 18.

Bowling for Soup confirmed during the Get Happy Tour that the group would be performing another tour of the UK in October 2007, called the Get Happy Tour 2, gracing the U.S. over the summer and featuring support acts Melee, Quietdrive, and Army of Freshmen. The UK tour bands were confirmed at the Download Festival (Army of Freshmen who played in the morning announced it first, and Bowling for Soup announced it later that afternoon), along with the lineup in Kerrang! on an advertisement poster for the new tour. The lineup consisted of Bowling for Soup, Bloodhound Gang, Zebrahead and Army of Freshmen.

To promote the release of Sorry for Partyin', Bowling for Soup embarked on a headline tour of the UK in October 2009 under the title of The Party in Your Pants Tour. Main support on the tour came from Zebrahead, with additional support coming from MC Lars (who is signed to Jaret Reddick's Crappy Records) and The Leftovers. During the last show of this tour at the Camden Town Roundhouse in London Jaret Reddick announced to the crowd that Bowling for Soup would return to the UK in "The Spring" and will be hitting the European summer festival circuit and then again returning to the UK for another headlining tour in the Autumn. On Christmas Eve 2009, Bowling for Soup announced through the band's website, a UK Acoustic Tour in April 2010.[50]

After the first acoustic tour of the UK in 2010 featuring Jaret and Erik and support act Bob Schneider was deemed a huge success, Jaret and Erik returned to the UK in March 2011 for a second acoustic tour. The tour began on April 1, 2011 at The Junction in Cambridge and concluded on April 15, 2011 at Koko in London, playing fifteen shows in total. On this tour the support acts were Erik Chandler and The Mulberry St. Socialites (Erik's side project), People on Vacation (Jaret's side project) and long time Bowling For Soup collaborator Linus Of Hollywood. During Bowling For Soup's headline sets. Linus would also join the band for a few songs on keyboard. Jaret announced there would be a 3rd Annual UK Acoustic Tour, the tour began on the March 26, 2012 at The Roadmender in Northampton and conclude on April 1, 2012 at Koko in London, playing a total of 7 shows. On this tour, the support acts were Erik Chandler and The Mulberry St. Socialites and People on Vacation.[51] Due to Bowling for Soup starting on the group's newest album, Reddick announced that there would be no acoustic tour during the usual March/April time slot in 2013, however Reddick and Chandler announced that they would be playing their final UK Acoustic show on October 9 in London at the Union Chapel prior to the full band tour.[52]

In 2011 Bowling for Soup played at 4 US Navy Bases. Three in Japan, which were Sasebo on July 2, Yokosuka on July 4 and Okinawa on July 13. Diego Garcia NSF in the British Indian Ocean Territory was part of the Armed Forces Entertainment tour for the band, to help kick off July 4 Celebrations for the troops. The first 3 dates were part of the Independence Day Celebration. During February and March 2012 Reddick & Chandler also traveled to the Middle East and Africa to perform some acoustic shows at US Military bases throughout the region.

On February 27, Bowling for Soup announced that a headlining a tour of the Midwest and Northeast of the U.S. Accompanying them was Patent Pending and Freshman 15. The tour started in Lawrence, KS on April 18 and ended in Dallas, TX on May 5.[53]

In an announcement video posted on the band's official YouTube account,[54] Jaret Reddick announced that the annual 14-day UK tour would go ahead in October 2013, but that it would be the last UK tour the group perform as Bowling For Soup. Reddick cited personal and financial reasons for the decision, saying that: "The UK has given this band everything, so I'm being honest about our reasons. We still love being Bowling For Soup but touring really does begin to take its toll on both you and your family after a while."[55] No Ireland dates were announced for the tour, which only featured one support act (Patent Pending) as opposed to two, with an extended Bowling For Soup setlist and exclusive acoustic concert for VIP ticket holders preceding the concert. The band also stressed that the group is not "are not splitting up", but at the current time there are no plans for a farewell US tour. Reddick also announced two new albums were to be recorded in early 2014 - a covers album and a re-recorded greatest hits album preceding the band's 20th anniversary in June 2014.

Bowling for Soup returned to the UK in June 2014 to perform twice at Castle Donington's Download Festival 2014. The group performed twice, in the afternoon on the main stage, which involved them sacrificing an inflatable sheep.[56] Later on in the evening the band performed an acoustic set on the Jägermeister Acoustic Stage.[57][58][59]

Members of Bowling for Soup signing autographs for sailors aboard the carrier USS John C. Stennis.

Bowling for Soup's hit song "1985" was originally written by SR-71's Mitch Allan. According to Reddick, Allan showed the song to him and instructed him to take it as his own, as it seemed more of a Bowling for Soup song than an SR-71 song. Bowling for Soup worked closely with the alternative band Army of Freshmen.[61] In the video for "High School Never Ends" the boy clapping can be seen wearing an Army of Freshmen T-shirt, and Army of Freshmen themselves can be seen as part of the BFS Marching Band. Reddick does guest vocals on four tracks on Army of Freshmen's album Under the Radar.

In 2003, fellow Texan punk rockers Junior opened for Bowling for Soup when the group played the club Trees in Deep Ellum. Reddick later co-wrote the song "She's So Amazing" for the band's album Are We Famous Yet?, and lends vocals as well. The Irish pop rock singer Lesley Roy lend her vocals for Bowling for Soup's song "Much More Beautiful Person" from the album The Great Burrito Extortion Case. Both Roy and Bowling for Soup are assigned to the same record label. Reddick is friends with MC Lars. Reddick has lent his vocals for MC Lars' single "Download This Song", and MC Lars is a part of Reddick's label Crappy Records. In 2009, Bowling for Soup cameoed in the music video "Telephone Operator" by The Leftovers, who are also a part of Crappy Records.

In 2001, Bowling for Soup performed the theme song for the Nickelodeon movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The group's version of the theme was based on the previously written television series theme song written by Brian Causey of Man Or Astro-man?. Also in 2001, Reddick wrote the lyrics for 'The Greatest Day' for the movie Max Keeble's Big Move while the band did the music.[62] Bowling for Soup also performed the theme "Today is Gonna Be a Great Day" for the Disney Channel cartoon Phineas and Ferb, Reddick stars in the episode "Dude We're Getting The Band Back Together" where he is the lead vocalist of a fictional band called "Love Händel". The band itself also appeared in animated form in the episode "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo" in which the band performed an alternate version of the show's theme with Phineas and Ferb for their futuristic nephews. On Cartoon Network, Reddick and Chandler both played an acoustic show in 2006. And in August 2008 Reddick and Chandler filmed an exclusive video for Total Guitar magazine in the UK called "How To Write A Song In 5 Minutes." In 2008, Reddick teamed up with SEGA to work on the theme song for Sonic Unleashed, entitled "Endless Possibility".

New Zealand band 48May ran into legal issues and decided to take the song "Leather and Tattoos" off of the group's debut album. The album was replaced with a "tour edition" of the CD with the questionable song missing. The melody was very similar to "Punk Rock 101".

In 2008, Jaret Reddick co-arranged, co-wrote and produced the singles "SUV" and "Girls + Summer = Fun!" with solo artist Christy Darlington, and Erik Chandler and Gary Wiseman performed on the recordings as well. These songs were subsequently released digitally. This collaboration resulted from Bowling for Soup and Darlington having performed concerts together and knowing each other since the late 1990s in the Dallas music scene and a mutual respect and appreciation for each other's music.[63]

In 2014 Bowling for Soup covered the Green Day song "St. Jimmy" for the album Kerrang! Does Green Day's American Idiot.[64]

Vocalist Jaret Reddick provided vocals on the Lakesick track "Greenmount" as the theme song for the upcoming stoner adventure comedy of the same name. Greenmount stars Shane Kippel and Samantha Munro (both of Degrassi: The Next Generation fame) alongside creator Joshua Prior (who also fronts Lakesick). Currently, it seems the only place to see Greenmount content is on Instagram @Greenmountseries.

It became a running gag in Bowling for Soup's music videos to feature previous songs of the band as an introduction for the video. This can be seen in "Girl All the Bad Guys Want", "Emily", and "High School Never Ends", which each feature music from "The Bitch Song", "Girl All the Bad Guys Want", and "1985" respectively.